Electric grain-heater.



.I. M. JORDAN.

ELECTRIC GRAIN HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.s. ms.

Patented July 4, 1916.

flj'jf 027 4 02 Witnesses Inventor,

Attorneys,

rein.

JAMES M. JORDAN, OF CI-IUROHVILLE, VIRGINIA.

ELECTRIC GRAIN-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July .4, 1916.

Application filed August 5, 1915. Serial No. 43,830.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES M. JORDAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Churchville, in the county of Augusta and State of Virginia, have invented a'new and useful Electric Grain-Heater, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric grain,

heaters, one of the objects thereof being to provide a simple, compact and efficient drier especially designed to use an electric heater so that the same can be used efliciently in mills run by water power and wheresteam, which is commonly employed in grain driers, is not ordinarily available.

A further object is to provide a grain drier or heater having means of novel form for distributing the grain into separate streams which, as fed past the heater, will be thoroughly dried before being discharged into the mill.

Another object is to provide simple means for retarding the flow of the grain through the drier, said means also constituting a discharge spout whereby the grain is directed into the mill.

Another object is to providea drier the parts of which can be assembled readily and can be easily taken apart for the purpose of repairing or replacing any of the parts.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the pre ferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a central vertical section through the drier, the spreader and the heater being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the drier with the top section removed. Fig. 3 is a section on line AB Fig. 1.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a drum having a concentric metal lining 2 and between this lining and the wall of the drum is packed an insulating material 3 which can be of asbestos or the like. The lining 2 and the insu lating material 3 do not extend up to the upper end of the drum 1 but terminate a short distance therebelow so as to form a ledge adapted to support the peripheral portion of a disk 4. Rods 5 extend downwardly from this disk at points adjacent the lining 2 and are held to the disk by nuts 6 engaging the upper and lower faces of the disk. The lower ends of the rods are similarly secured to a bottom disk 7 which fits snugly within the lower portion of the lining Q.

Mounted upon the disk 4: and concentric therewith is a spreader 8 preferably bellshape and which is held to the disk 4 by a bolt 9 extending downwardly through the spreader and through the center of the disk, said bolt being held by a nut 10 or in any other desired manner. A series of closely disposed openings 11 is formed within the disk 1 and extends around the spreader 8, these openings lying between the spreader and the rods 5. A similar arrangement of openings 12 is provided in the lower disk 7. Arranged within the openings 11 and 12 are tubes 13 the upper ends of which are formed with annular flanges 14 adapted to bear downwardly on the disk 4 and thus hold the tubes suspended within the openings 11 and 12. The lower ends of the tubes are disposed close to but below the disk 7.

The series of tubes 13 and the disks a and 7 define a central heating chamber 15 in which is arranged an electric heater 16 of the usual or any preferred form, this heater being secured to the middle portion of the disk 7 so as to stand rigidly within the heating chamber. A fiat tubular stem 17 is secured to the bottom of the disk 1 and extends outwardly therebeyond to a socket 18 to which cords 19 are adapted to be connected electrically. The tubular stem 17 has electric conductors therein from which extend wires 20 leading to the heater 16. A short longitudinal slot 21 is formed in the upper end of the drum 1 and its lining, this slot being designed to receive the stem 11. Thus it will be seen that when the parts are assembled, the socket 18 will be supported beyond the drum 1, while the spreader 8, the tubes 13 and the other parts hereinbefore described will be housed within the drum. However, said parts can be removed readily from the drum simply by lifting them so as to remove the disk 4 from the upper end of the lining 2 and to withdraw the stem 17 from the slot 21.

Removably engaging the upper end of the drum 1' is a cylindrical inlet section 22 having a frusto-conical upper portion 23 from which extends a feed tube 24. This feed tube is located directly above the spreader 8 so that material when discharged through the tube and into the section 22 will fall directly onto the spreader and'be distributed to the several tubes 13. Extending inwardly and downwardly from the Wall of the section 22 is a frusto-conical deflector 25 which cooperates with the spreader 8 to form an annular channel from the bottom of which extend the tubes 13. Consequently, material directed into the section 22 will not only be deflected by the spreader 8 toward the tubes 13, but would also be deflected toward said tubes by the deflector 25. Thus no corners or shoulders will be left upon which grain might accumulate and thus clog the-working of the drier. Detachably connected to the lower end ofthe drum 1 is a cylindrical bottom section 26 having a frusto-conical downwardly extending portion '27 from which projects an outlet tube 28, the diameter of this tube being less than that of the tube 24-.

It will be noted that the tubes 13 converge downwardly to a slight extent so that the grain, in descending through the tubes will slide or roll along the walls of the tubes and not fall directly through the tubes as would be the case should the tubes be vertical.

In using the drier, current is directed to the heater 16 with the result that the temperature of the tubes'13 is raised to.a' desired degree. The grain to be dried is then directed through tube 24 into section 22 and will be deflected to the tubes 13 by the spreader 8 and deflector 25. While passing through the tubes the grain will be dried,

and the dried grain will be discharged into the section 26 from which itwill pass by way of the tube 28. As the diameter of the tube28 is less than the inlet tube 24, it will be apparent that the grain cannot escape from the drier as fast as it is supplied thereto. Consequently the grain will be retarded in its passage through the drier so that the complete drying of the grain will be insured before said grain isdischarged from the drier.

What is claimed is 1. A grain heater including a drum, an insulated lining therein forming a supporting ledge at its upper end, a top disk supported upon the ledge, a bottom disk within the lower portion of the drum, connections be tween the disks, a circular series of tubes extending through the disks and forming a heating chamber therebetween, a spreader upon the top disk and between the upper ends of the tubes, means for directing grain onto the spreader and into the tubes, and a drum and having a feed tube opening thereinto, a spreader upon the upper disk and below the feed tube and between the upper ends of the tubes in the disks, a bottom sec tion detachably engaging the drum, and an outlet tube extending from the bottom sec- 4 tion, said outlet tube being of less diameter than the feed tube.

3. A grain heater including a drum, a lining therein forming a ledge at its upper end, a top disk supported on the ledge, a bottom disk within the drum, detachable connections between the disks and within the drum, a circular series of tubes extending through the disks and converging downwardly, spreader upon the top disk and between the upper ends of the tubes, a heating medium surrounded by the tubes, an inlet section det achably engaging the upper end ofthe drum, a downwardly and inwardly inclined deflector carried by said section and. tenminating close to the tubes, a feed tube opening into the inlet section and above the deflector, a bottom section detachably engaging the drum, and an outlet tube extending therefrom and of less diameter than the feed tube. I

45. A grain heater including a drum, an insulated lining therein, a top disk supported in the drum, a bottom disk within the lower portion of the drum, connections between the disks, a circular series of tubes extending through the disks and forming a heating chamber therebetween, a spreader upon the top disk and between the upper ends of the tubes, means for directing grain onto the spreader and into the tubes, and a. heater within the heating chamber.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have'hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES M. J ORDAN. Witnesses:

IVY E. SIMPSON, RUTH SCOTT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner e1.v Patents, Washington D. G. 

